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by Fred Grott.
Original Post: The Real Facebook Smartphone
Feed Title: GrottWorkShop
Feed URL: http://shareme.github.io/atom.xml
Feed Description: Android development with a passion for Android, Java, and Agile.
Yes, there is a real Faacebook smartphone being worked on at the moment, But, first before I go over the clues all this is opinion as they may have feed false information to those that they attempt to recruit.
Where is Facebook’s Growth
See that IPO hickup lately? It was not the the decrease in ads directly that influenced the downgrade among analysts. Look at what was not stated, we have a change in DAU and ad revenue but the new users numbers was not discused. And its not anincrease inmobile users its what part of that mobile user increase in FB users is new users that reflects on where the focus of the DAU and ad revenue decrease due to mobile users should be focused upon. Why?
Because an increase in new FB users who happen tobe mobile users can slow an ad revenue decrease to change in DAu mong desktop and mobile users. That slowing of adrevenue decreases woudl than of course postively impact FN stock valuation and stock price.
Facebook is saturated as far as users growth in the US and Europe as you can only be on internet so many hours per day and FB market share of US internet users is already above 80% in the US and Europe.The next biggest markets for FB user growth are Indian and China. India is on a road to move towards China styled internet censorship and China already has that in which access to non country compliant services like Goolge are an hinderance.
The OEM Connection
And both countries present a challenge of making a low cost smartphone that gets inot the massees hands. Currnetly, HTC already pursues a non-google expereince smartphone approach with Baidu using a customized Android OS for that purpose.
It would not surpirse me if FB buys HTC considering right now that HTC is worth about at the lowend $10 billion. Or it might purpoe just a partnership given that Android 4.0 already sports a social sharing intent that includes facebook.
If FB was pursuing an active customize their own Android OS with their own hand picked chipset you would have saw an increase in android OS cusotmization job ads with fb listed as emplyer, this has not happened. Thus, I believe that FB is designing the phone but HTC is the OEM partner that will build the device at least for the China market and FB has strived to make sure that FB isnot fully banned in China.
The non-Google Experience Android Handset
If FB does partner with HTC than it will not need to hire android application developers to replace the Google Exeperience applications as HTC has already completed this using Baidu services for the China market. And this is born out by the android jobpostings that FB is not posting.
THe FB experience Smartphone
It is my best opinion and guess that FB will test run a set of FB experience smartphones for the China market using HTC as the OEM partner. This partnership will expand to other markets as the China market experience succeeds.
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